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Year 11
Edexcel

'Romeo and Juliet': exploring gendered societal expectations

I can explain how Romeo and Juliet both subvert and conform to gendered societal expectations in 'Romeo and Juliet'.

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Year 11
Edexcel

'Romeo and Juliet': exploring gendered societal expectations

I can explain how Romeo and Juliet both subvert and conform to gendered societal expectations in 'Romeo and Juliet'.

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Lesson details

Key learning points

  1. In Elizabethan England, violence and honour were arguably seen as integral to masculinity.
  2. We might see Romeo's killing of Tybalt as conforming to masculine expectations and leading to his downfall.
  3. In Elizabethan England, obedience was arguably seen as integral to femininity.
  4. By marrying Romeo, Juliet subverts the expectations of how a daughter should behave.
  5. However, we might see Juliet as conforming to societal expectations of how a wife should behave.

Keywords

  • Societal expectations - the beliefs and norms that a society holds about how individuals should behave and act

  • Conform - behave in line with socially acceptable conventions or standards

  • Subvert - behave or act in the opposite way to socially acceptable conventions or standards

  • Masculinity - a set of behaviours, qualities and roles associated with men and boys

  • Femininity - a set of behaviours, qualities and roles associated with women and girls

Common misconception

That characters either conform to or subvert stereotypes within texts.

We might see Romeo and Juliet as both conforming to and subverting societal expectations of gender at different moments in 'Romeo and Juliet' - characters are typically multifaceted rather than one note.


To help you plan your year 11 english lesson on: 'Romeo and Juliet': exploring gendered societal expectations, download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs...

It may be useful to recap the plot of 'Romeo and Juliet' before this lesson.
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Teacher tip
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Equipment

You may wish to have a copy of Shakespeare's 'Romeo and Juliet' for this lesson.

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Content guidance

  • Depiction or discussion of mental health issues
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Supervision

Adult supervision required

copyright

Licence

This content is © Oak National Academy Limited (2025), licensed on Open Government Licence version 3.0 except where otherwise stated. See Oak's terms & conditions (Collection 2).

Lesson video

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Starter quiz

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6 Questions

Q1.
Put the events of Shakespeare's 'Romeo and Juliet' in chronological order.
1 - Romeo and Juliet meet and fall in love.
2 - Romeo and Juliet marry in secret.
3 - Romeo kills Juliet's cousin, Tybalt.
4 - Romeo is banished from Verona.
5 - Lord Capulet commands that Juliet marry Count Paris.
6 - Juliet fakes her own death.
7 - Romeo and Juliet take their own lives.
Q2.
'A set of behaviours, qualities and roles associated with men and boys' is the definition of which word beginning with 'm'?
Correct Answer: masculinity, Masculinity
Q3.
'A set of behaviours, qualities and roles associated with women and girls' is the definition of which word beginning with 'f'?
Correct Answer: femininity, Femininity
Q4.
What behaviours or qualities do we stereotypically associate with masculinity?
emotional vulnerability
Correct answer: strength and power
Correct answer: dominance
nurture and care
Q5.
'A system of society or government controlled by men' is the definition of which word beginning with 'p'?
Correct Answer: patriarchal, patriarchy , Patriachal
Q6.
Which of the following are expectations of women's behaviour in a patriarchal society?
Women should be dominant.
Correct answer: Women should be submissive.
Correct answer: Women should be obedient.
Women should be subversive.

Exit quiz

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6 Questions

Q1.
In Shakespeare's 'Romeo and Juliet', Romeo's attempt to make peace with Tybalt in Act 3, Scene 1 is seen as which of the following?
honourable
Correct answer: dishonourable
dominant
Q2.
'To behave in line with socially acceptable conventions or standards' is the definition of which word beginning with 'c'?
Correct Answer: conform, Conform
Q3.
'To behave or act in the opposite way to socially acceptable conventions or standards' is the definition of which word beginning with 's'?
Correct Answer: subvert, Subvert
Q4.
Complete Romeo's quotation from Act 3, Scene 1 of Shakespeare's 'Romeo and Juliet': “Away to heaven, respective lenity, / And fire-eyed be my conduct now.”
Correct Answer: fury
Q5.
'The beliefs and norms that a society holds about how individuals should behave and act' is the definition of societal .
Correct Answer: expectations, Expectations
Q6.
In Shakespeare's 'Romeo and Juliet', Juliet is arguably __________ societal expectations of femininity by refusing to "speak ill" of Romeo.
subverting
Correct answer: conforming to
dismissing